Edward Cabrera's dominant rehab outing just made Cubs' post-deadline pitching plans more interesting

Thanks to Jed Hoyer, the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation outlook went from sparse and bleak to crowded and promising in recent days, thanks to the additions of proven veterans Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman.

Both in the rotation and the bullpen, things could get even more interesting soon with key arms like Daniel Palencia and Edward Cabrera working their way back from injuries. As for the latter, he looked as about as dialed in as we've ever seen him in his rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa this week.

Cabrera fired four innings of eight-strikeout ball, not allowing an earned run or a walk in the process. He looked like the pitcher the Cubs hoped they were getting when they traded top prospect Owen Caissie to Miami last winter, instead of the pitcher they've gotten to this point (-0.8 bWAR, 5.10 ERA).

Edward Cabrera returns to a very crowded Cubs starting rotation

That's a guy ready to jump back into the thick of things. The only problem now is there isn't a spot to return to. Gausman and Holmes join the likes of Matthew Boyd (3.59 ERA), Shota Imanaga (3.60 ERA) and David Peterson (2 ER or less in five of his six starts with the Cubs). Heck, even Javier Assad (2.37 ERA since June 6) would probably be ahead of Cabrera on the depth chart, but given the fact he has options remaining, likely won't leapfrog him.

So what to do with Cabrera? Craig Counsell said the Cubs would employ a six-man rotation at times, but the big righty could be equally as valuable as a burst reliever, where he can let his stuff go all-out for an inning or two - a recipe we could see when/if Ben Brown and Justin Steele return to the team. The idea of shutting the door in the mid-to-late innings with Cabrera, Brown, Steele, Palencia and Ryan Zeferjahn is certainly appealing.

We'll see Cabrera make starts in August and September. That, I'm confident of. But when it's October and the season is on the line, don't be surprised if Cabrera cracks those postseason rosters. His stuff (as we saw in this rehab start) is that good and he could prove to be a bullpen ace up Counsell's sleeve.

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